Church Discipline - Telling the church

Matt Horine

Church Discipline • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Dan Russell

Notes

Transcript

Introduction

Before we begin let us go to the Lord in prayer—to ask for mercy, wisdom, and love.

Let me read Matthew 18:15-17.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

God’s Story of Redemption

Throughout God’s story of redemption, we see a cycle we know all too well:

(1) the people rebel, (2) God disciplines His people, (3) the people cry for mercy, and (4) God delivers them.

Over and over again, we see God deal patiently and graciously with His stubborn and rebellious people so that they might return to Him, receive His compassion and forgiveness and experience His redeeming love.

This was true for the Israelites. The same is true for you and me. God relentlessly disciplines us as His children in our rebellion so that we share in His holiness and love through Christ:

“… Do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives. For they [our fathers] disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he [God] does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:5-6, 10-11, CSB).

We also see in God’s story that He doesn’t remove His care from us when He disciplines us; rather He shows His care for us through His discipline. God never gives up on His people.

Inform and Remove From Covenant Community

But the Scriptures are clear that if there are those who persistently turn their backs on God and refuse to listen to Him and His people after numerous attempts and relentless pursuit, the church needs to be informed:

“If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you.” (Matt. 18:17, CSB)

Why must the church be informed?

So that you as the church can be mobilized to pray for and pursue those who have totally rejected God through their lives.

So that you and I as the church can be reminded of the deceitfulness and danger of sin.

What does it mean to treat someone as “a Gentile and a tax collector?”

Simply put, to treat someone who once professed faith in Christ as a “Gentile and tax collector” is to no longer affirm them as a follower of Christ and to remove them from the covenant community established by the blood of Christ.

What does it mean to remove someone from the covenant community of the church?

Remove from Covenant Community = Remove Community and Care.

When people refuse to trust and obey Christ, they deny Christ as Lord and Savior. Imagine a member of the body of Christ rejecting Christ Himself. As a result, the church can no longer affirm their faith in Christ, and we must remove them from the covenant community of Christ.

Such removal reflects what they have already declared to Christ and His people—they desire to remove themselves from the community and care of God and His people.

In a shocking and sobering way, the removal also symbolizes “handing them over to Satan.” They have already joined the ranks of Satan by refusing to submit to God and His people. This truth is seen in 2 Timothy 2 as it addresses how we are to minister to those who oppose the truth:

“… Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth. Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Tim. 2:24-26, CSB)

But don’t miss this point … God commands His church to remove those who refuse to turn back to Christ and to hand them over to Satan for a very personal and particular purpose—to redeem them by His love.The purpose, aim, and goal of church discipline is restoration:

“When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus … hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 5:4-5, CSB)

Transition

Given this brief overview of why and how God disciplines us, I will present a church discipline case on behalf of the elders.

Church Discipline Case

In the case brought before you tonight, the person involved has refused to listen to the call to return to Christ and the biblical warnings of church leaders and members after multiple attempts over the course of many months. It is with much sorrow, the elders bring before you, as the members of Calvary, the case of Dan Russell.

Case—For many years Dan has been held captive to sexual sin which has wreaked havoc on his life, on his marriage, and on his family. For the past 3-4 years, after we became aware of the severity of his sin, we as pastors and even several other members of the church spent countless hours with him seeking to provide biblical counsel. We have admonished him, we have prayed with him, we have loved and pursued him, we have been patient with him, we have encouraged him with the hope of the gospel, and we have called him to repentance.

However, after many countless attempts to call him to true gospel repentance, to pursue holiness, to pursue his wife, and after several warnings from members, and elders, Dan still has refused to listen to and submit to Christ and has instead chosen to abandon his wife, his children, and the church (1 Tim. 5:8).

So as elders, we are informing you, as the church, about Dan’s sexual sin and abandonment of his wife and family and his refusal to repent and submit to Christ:

First, Love Dan by Praying for and Pursuing Him.

Prayer is one of the primary ways we can fight for each other’s souls and trust in God. God wants to unleash His power through the prayers of His people. Our desire is for his restoration.

Second, Love Joni, his wife by Praying for and Supporting Her.

By God’s grace, her community group and other women from this church have been loving and supporting Joni through all of this.

As a church, we sometimes tend to give more time and attention to the ones who have turned their backs on God than on the ones who remain. Let’s continue to care for Joni in such a way that she experiences the love of Christ through the body of Christ through prayer and practical ways.

However, if Dan does not repent and if he does not turn back to Christ and contact the elders by Sunday, January 23, 2022 (the date of our next members meeting), then the elders will recommend to the church at that meeting that we remove him from the covenant membership.

Pray for Dan, for the Lord to grant repentance which would lead to his restoration.

Questions and Warning

Questions: We realize this is a lot to take in this evening … if you have any further questions about God’s discipline or what took place tonight, please talk to one of the elders (Trevor, Dan, Brian, George, or myself).

Gossip: We also want to warn you against any gossip, based on what we have discussed tonight—this is a family matter and should not be discussed with anyone outside the church.

Be Sobered: On one hand, we encourage you to be sobered and sorrowful over the reality and consequences of sin.

Be Overwhelmed: On the other hand, we also want you to be deeply encouraged and overwhelmed by the power and love of your God, a God who loves you so much that He disciplines you in your rebellion so that you can enjoy His faithful and redeeming love and as a result, glorify God.

Prayer

Let’s take five minutes and break up into groups of 3-5 people to pray for Dan & Joni and their children, Danielle & Dakota. Pray for our entire church family—for the Lord to grant us faith and repentance, humility, and love. Then, I will close the time in prayer.